The Critical Role of the National Guard at Home and Abroad

Statement Before the House Government Reform Committee and Summary of Committee Action on this Topic

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing today on such an important and timely topic.  The National Guard and the citizen-soldier ideal behind its creation predates the founding of our nation.  Our founding fathers saw the need for a well-trained cadre of Americans who would stand ready to serve in times of crisis.  

All of us have watched our brave women and men in uniform assisting citizens and maintaining order in the wake of a natural disaster.  We are grateful for their service as they fight side-by-side with active duty soldiers to advance the causes we, as Americans, hold dear.  

Now, perhaps more than any time in our nation's history, we are relying on these citizen-soldiers more and more.  In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the National Guard began to mobilize soldiers in support of the Global War on Terror.  These soldiers fought the Taliban and al Qaeda throughout Asia and Africa.  They continue to guard prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and perform support missions here in the U.S.  Similarly, National Guard soldiers serve on the front lines in Iraq.  Even with an unprecedented number of Guardsmen serving in harm's way overseas, the National Guard has been called to respond to the most destructive hurricane season on record.

I believe that one of the most important roles of the Congress is to ensure that we support these soldiers effectively.  This hearing is an important part of that effort, and it complements the work of the Committee over the past three years to improve the treatment of wounded Guardsmen and to make needed changes to the outdated and ineffective pay and travel systems.

I have personally visited with many of Pennsylvania's Guard troops deployed in places like Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.  Just recently, I joined a group of soldiers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, as they prepared to ship out to Iraq.  These soldiers deserve nothing less than a full commitment of support from those of us here at home. 

We cannot overlook the importance of the National Guard to our state governments.  My home state of Pennsylvania has a proud history, with citizen-soldiers serving in every war since the Revolution.  The foundation of what is now the Pennsylvania National Guard began in 1747 under the leadership of Benjamin Franklin.  Today, Pennsylvania is the home of the second largest National Guard force in the nation.  Mr. Chairman, I am pleased that we will hear from the current Governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell.  Governor Rendell and Idaho's Governor Kempthorne will provide an important perspective as we balance the needs of the nation with those of the states.

Again, Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing and for the Committee's continuing oversight of issues affecting the National Guard.

GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE
WORK ON NATIONAL GUARD AND RESERVE ISSUES

GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE
CHAIRMAN TOM DAVIS (R-VA-11)

SUBCOMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT, FINANCE, AND ACCOUNTABILITY
CHAIRMAN TODD PLATTS (R-PA-19)

Committee Actions
Hearings
November 2003 Full Committee Hearing - Pay problems with Guard soldiers
July 2004  Subcommittee Hearing - Pay problems with Reserve soldiers
February 2005  Full Committee Hearing - Wounded Army Guard and Reserve Forces
March 3005 Subcommittee Hearing - Travel Reimbursement Problems for Reserve and Guard soldiers

Quarterly Briefings
Beginning in January 2004, the Committee has quarterly briefings with military and civilians responsible soldier pay.  During these briefings, the staff is updated on how DoD is responding to GAO's findings and the status of implementing prior recommendations.

Site Visits
January 2004  Full Committee staff visit to Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin
August 2004 Subcommittee staff visit to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) Indianapolis and Ft. McCoy, Wisconsin

Current GAO Investigations Requested by Platts, Davis, Shays
These reviews are currently underway and stem from problems uncovered in previous case studies.
Date Initiated Topic
2/23/04 Audit of internal controls over military payroll payments to Reserve personnel
3/1/04 Controls, systems to ensure activated Reservists receive proper medical benefits
*5/24/04 DoD Business Systems Modernization
3/26/05 Review to ensure Army pay system accurately begins and terminates pay
3/26/05 Review to ensure injured soldiers are not subjected to debt collection because of erroneous payments
*The Business Systems Modernization request is a long-term engagement that will produce periodic reports.  The root cause of pay problems is the fact that DoD has out-dated systems.  The Business Systems Modernization is the long-term solution.

Results of Committee, DoD, and GAO Collaboration
GAO developed 50 recommendations for DoD to improve its systems.  Committee staff and DoD personnel meet quarterly to assess the progress in implementing those recommendations.  Also, Committee staff traveled to DFAS-Indianapolis and Army installations for briefings.  DoD has been very responsive to the efforts of GAO and the Committee, and among the many management and systems improvements they have made, the following apply directly to travel reimbursement:

Improved Communications
o The Army Finance Command published a booklet for soldiers entitled The Citizen Soldier's Guide to Mobilization Finance.  Over 50,000 of these pamphlets have been distributed.
o The Army National Guard established an ombudsman office for all pay and travel issues
o The Defense Finance and Accounting Service established a 1-800 number to assist soldiers with problems
o DoD has worked to standardize and simplify forms, including travel orders.
o DoD reconstructed the "Leave and Earnings Statement" or LES - essentially the soldier's pay stub.  Prior to Committee involvement, the LES was written with numerical codes and was very difficult to read.  This often prevented soldiers from understanding whether or not they were receiving the correct pay.  Now, the LES includes a description of each pay category instead of a numerical code.
Training
o Training has been improved for all mobilizing Guard troops and Unit Commanders.  On-line training systems have also been implemented for finance personnel
New Central Office
o On July 6, 2004, DFAS established a "Center of Excellence" in Cleveland to consolidate and streamline pay services for all Guard and Reserve forces, including Army, Navy, and Air Force Reserves, and the Army and Air National Guard.  The center will have "surge capability" to deal with large-scale deployments.

While many of the issues have been addressed by DoD since the Committee's involvement, it is important to continue oversight in this area to ensure that long-term solutions have Congressional support and input.  This will continue to be a top priority of both the Subcommittee on Government Management, Finance, and Accountability and the full Government Reform Committee.